Snow.

Snow, and I stayed up way too late last night, so no lek surveys this morning. Shoulda gone, though. Bet the desert was beautiful with a layer of new snow on it.

Muddy, perhaps, but beautiful.

News says the highways were dangerously slick, too.

So, instead we slept in. And did crossword puzzles, and watched a Hannibal Lector marathon with youngest son. His masked heeler snugged as close as she could get to her boy who has been gone so long.

Until, of course, his phone rang. Then he was off to take yet another shower, and then out the door.

Managed to ask which vehicle he was taking, although I knew the answer.

Ours.

Wife and he picked up the little red Subaru on Friday. Yes, the insurance company totalled it over a month ago, and gave us a check. About half of which went to making the last three payments. And then a hundred or so dollars buying back the little red Subaru, at salvage value.

And now, ~$700 later, we have it back. Functional, except for the air conditioning. And the hood latch. Somehow knew the thing could be made safe, driveable and street legal without replacing all the damaged pieces with factory parts, all for over $3,000, and we were right.

As the mechanic said, you feel horrible paying hundreds of dollars for what is essentially painted styrofoam. So now the car has two posts sticking up through the front corners of the hood, with rings holding the pins in.

Youngest son calls it the "ZombieCar" now, and hates it. Perhaps a little trauma left over from last December, too. Does not want to drive it.

Or be seen in it. Not sure which, exactly.

Which is fine, since we fixed it up for eldest son to use, not youngest. So perhaps he can actually be seriously considered for some of the jobs he's been applying for in town.

Me, I think the little red car looks more like a FrankenCar, not a zombie, with those bolts sticking out.

When I was young and paying attention to vehicles, those hood pins were cool. Guys would rip out the latch mechanism just so they could have those pins.

Now it's ugly.

Aaanyway, he's off with the SUV again tonight.

And twenty bucks from my wallet.

Did I mention we spent almost two hours on the phone yesterday? With wife's godson? Like, the first contact we've had with him for months. (Turns out both sons had spoken with him in the interim, just didn't seem important to relay that fact on.)

So, he's working full time in the gas patch, now. With a brand-new truck to handle the commute, and all the expenses that come with buying your own vehicle. Making real money, and now he knows about sage-grouse stipulations, too, from then other end.

Still planning on a future in Hollywood. But going to use the oil and gas industry, as well as welding, to get him there.

Okay. Better than waiting tables or parking cars, I assume.

And to end the fourth year, another image from the start of Friday, taken just as we passed over the Divide.